Tom Muromoto

Tom Muromoto has served as executive chef at Maui’s Kaanapali Beach Hotel since 1999. Under his guidance, the cuisine at the hotel’s signature Tiki Terrace restaurant has reached a level of excellence that has garnered local and national culinary awards and stellar reviews locally, nationally and internationally. On holidays, it is not unusual for the renowned Sunday brunch buffet to serve more than 1,000 guests.

Born and raised in Hawaii, Muromoto takes cues from the Islands’ unparalleled ethnic diversity and the distinctive Native Hawaiian diet and goes further, combining that Island advantage with boundless culinary curiosity to create a style of Hawai‘i Regional Cuisine that is his own.

Before he was a chef, Muromoto was a professional surfer. “I’ve spent my entire life in and around the ocean—surfing, diving for lobster, spearfishing,” says Muromoto. “I’m a water guy and I can’t imagine living and working anywhere else for just that reason—proximity to the ocean. It gives you a specific viewpoint on the bounty we have in Hawaii that comes from the sea.”

Responsible for all food and beverage operations at the 432-room property, Muromoto has still managed to travel to—and cook in—Taiwan, Vietnam, Australia, Japan, and the continental U.S. He is often chosen by the Maui Visitors Bureau and other hospitality industry organizations to represent his home island. And it’s not just for his cooking. His warm personality expemplifies the aloha people expect when they meet a chef from Hawaii.